Interpret Studios + Interpret Studios

New Year New Showreel

Matt Katsolis — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:38:34 +0000

2011 was a great year and we are excited to welcome in 2012 and see whats in stored for us. In honor of a new year Interpret Studios has put together a video montage of our projects. Check out the new showreel and let us know what you think!

Back to Warsaw | Father of Freedom

Matt Katsolis — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:39:29 +0000

After an initial scouting trip in October, principle cinematography began for Father of Freedom, the inspiring documentary of the life and death of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish Priest who whose only weapon was the truth…

Teaming up with our production partner, Digital Video Arts, the film will focus at the height of Communism from the late 70’s to early 80’s in Poland. The story unfolds in post World War II Warsaw after the Germans destroyed Old Town Central Warsaw followed by the Soviet invasion and imposition of Communism. Father Remek Blaszkowski, a Catholic Polish Priest who is a part of the production team sums it up best “the entire communist system was afraid of Father Jerzy Popieluszko and his only weapon was the Truth.”

V is for Victory - The fall of Communism

Future production trips for Father of Freedom include additional trips to Poland, Russia, and Italy.

Matt Katsolis and Sefton Tranter at the Center of Europe!

Matt Katsolis and Sefton Tranter standing outside SK Cathedral

Life on the Mississippi Part One

Matt Katsolis — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:29:02 +0000

Huckleberry Finn can’t skate, or can he?An idea that started on a napkin per Benji Meyer (Skate Filmer/Concept Creator) turns into a reality! The ultimate skate adventure traveling 1,705 miles through 10 states down the Mississippi River from St. Paul to New Orleans aboard a floating skatepark on a river barge. This is the Red Bull Mississippi Grind.

We started off our journey at the source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca on August 30th, 2011. It was hard to image that such a small stream would eventually travel over 2,300 miles southbound and end up in the Gulf of Mexico. Matt had placed a leaf in the water and stated “safe travels down the mighty Mississippi, see you in New Orleans”. Pretty surreal!!!

Three weeks on the river have passed now with so many life long friendships and memories made it’s hard to count. From filming skaters land amazing tricks while the skate barge is in motion to seeing the reaction on Red Bull Athlete Luis Tolentino’s face as he is holding a Bald Eagle. It truly has been an amazing experience so far!!! Stay tuned for Life on the Mississippi Part Two where we showcase the full story…

Many thanks go out to Chad Pregracke and our friends at Living Lands and Waters who let us hitch a ride and experience true life on the Mississippi River!!!

Follow all the action/updates: www.redbullusa.com/missgrind

Matt Katsolis getting aerials of the Mississippi Grind north of Prarie du Cheyne, IL

Sefton Tranter, Nic McLean, and Matt Katsolis at the source of the Mississippi River

One of many interview locations for the show along the river

Katso getting some aerials of the barge in motion

Bald Eagles = Awesome.

On the Road with “Dispatch”

Matt Katsolis — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:21:54 +0000

The northeast was the stage for a viral video shoot with the band “Dispatch” who announced an upcoming 2011 Tour Schedule and projected studio sessions…After getting a call from Dispatch’s management, we quickly set the wheels in motion for a shoot just north of New York in plans for creating a viral video to announce Dispatch’s return to the music scene after a 7 year break. For anyone who doesn’t know Dispatch- I’ve heard the quote that sums them up well, “the most famous band you may have never heard of” -These guys are some of the most talented musicians across the board, playing about any instrument and any style imaginable yet giving it their own distinct style. And did I mention they are hilarious? Chad Urmston, Brad Corrigan, and Pete Heimbold are about the most unassuming rock stars you’ll ever meet- more worried about crackin a perfectly timed joke than anything else and just wanting to enjoy their time together. The shoot was nothing short of laid back and fun – you can see the first video online on their site as well as their social media sites. Keep an eye out for more and make sure to see them if you can get tickets before they sell out- Dispatch’s Official Site

World’s Best BMX Riders + Barge + Ramps + 3 Camera’s + Cineflex = Red Bull Bargespin

Matt Katsolis — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:31:37 +0000

Red Bull Bargespin was a five-day journey on a floating BMX park with seven of the top ranked BMX riders in the world…We started off the voyage in Fort Lauderdale on December 11th at the Winterfest Boat Parade. It was insane… They said over a million people came out to line up on the riverfront as we floated down the parade route… The barge quickly started to turn heads, first because you could hear it coming from a mile away with two DJ’s battling it out at the front of the boat, but as soon as you could see it people freaked out. Red Bull won two awards – Best in Entertainment (Barge) and the Kaye Person Award for spirit of innovation. After the Boat Parade, we made our way south, down the Intercoastal Waterway to Miami for the final stop along the American Airlines Arena on December 15th. The tour ended in front of basketball fans as they prepared to watch the Miami Heat go on to beat the Cleveland Cavs. DJ Irie, the official Miami Heat DJ, joined the crew on the barge and spun the ones and twos and laid down the soundtrack for the athletes to hit the ramps and get some big air as they performed their best tricks. The lineup was ridiculous- Daniel Dhers, Drew Bezanson, Anthony Napolitan, Corey Martinez, Terry Adams and Craig Mast. They went huge even when no one was looking- props to those guys for charging so hard and more importantly stoking out all the BMX groms who came out… Look for a show in early 2011 with the best of the trip. More at Red Bull USA

NCAA Final Four with CBS Sports

Matt Katsolis — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:02:37 +0000

Berkeley, California was home to this years NCAA Men’s Water Polo Final Four with USC taking home the championship. Despite the deluge of rain in we were able to pull off the shoot and get some great imagery…
The weekend started off with a powerful interview with LMU Head Coach John Loughran who was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow last Christmas. One year last he has fully beat the Leukemia and lead his LMU team to a respectable 3rd place finish in the NCAA Div 1. Men’s Water Polo. The championship came down to USC vs CAL with USC taking home the championship. It was a challenge of a shoot for good friend Russ Brownley and I to pull off with a very limited time frame and an outdoor venue but in the end everything came out looking great and the piece aired December 18th on CBS Sports….

The Only Constant Is Change

Matt Katsolis — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 03:50:54 +0000

The Critical View- Panasonic’s Professional User Driven Site asked for a write up of my experience with their equipment over the last decade…. Full Story

I’ve been through a lot of good and bad situations with their gear- everything from studio settings to the wilderness….. Good friend Russ Brownley’s baboon attack in South Africa without destroying the DVX still takes the cake but here’s my 2 cents and lessons from the road…

The Only Constant Is Change Full Article

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MovieMaker Magazine Feature

Matt Katsolis — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:42:39 +0000

Thanks to everyone at MovieMaker Magazine for the great feature in this months mag… Full Story Here

“Moving On” Wins Panasonic’s Grand Prize

Matt Katsolis — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:49:39 +0000

Just received some amazing news from Panasonic that our film “Moving On” has Won the Grand Prize in Panasonic’s Shoot It Share It Contest!

After 8 months of production, dozens of plane tickets, many long days and nights both here and in Uganda, the news of the win comes as such an encouragement to the entire crew who has poured their hearts into the film. Everyone involved is just overwhelmed by the unbelievable news and more over strengthened to know that Moving On is making an impact. We had originally found out two weeks ago we placed First in the Documentary Category and were among 7 finalists to be chosen by select judges on behalf of Panasonic. The remaining Finalists in the categories of Documentary, Drama, Nature, Travel, Sports, Comedy, and News, were to be voted on by the public with the winner being awarded Panasonic’s Grand Prize.

A huge THANKS goes out to all our friends, family, and supporters who took the time to watch and vote for us and Panasonic for putting on the contest! In addition to getting the word out to the world about the film, we are being awarded an AG-HPX370 P2 Camera! I don’t know if that camera knows what it’s in for but it’s about to be put to work… Hope it likes hot, humid, environments and being used for excessive amounts of time. Find out soon enough… Follow the film at www.movingonmovie.com THANK YOU PANASONIC!

Big Horn Sheep, Helicopters, and Stress Fractures, eh?

Matt Katsolis — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:08:01 +0000

3 weeks on the road… First 9 days in Grand Junction, Colorado finishing up the principle shooting of Moving On, then straight to Milwaukee, south to Chicago, a day in Florida to change gear, and spending the last 6 days in Vancouver. Whew…

Highlights over the last few weeks of production trips included one of the most amazing location shoots gaffing a gymnasium for a recreate dream sequence. Couldn’t believe what were able to pull off in the 4 hour window we had the location secured for, getting almost double the footage from our storyboards. A few days later hiked to Independence Rock in Colorado Monument and an hour into the hike we walked straight into a herd of Big Horn Sheep. At the time I had no idea if they were aggressive or not so we stood our ground and got some close up footage. A few minutes into it I heard some rocks move about 100 feet above us, only to look up and see the Male of the herd emerge over the edge of a cliff and look down at us. Surreal stuff.. He made his way down, stopped on the trail, squared up his shoulders, held his ground, then gradually turned away and joined the rest of the herd. Found out later that it’s rare to run across a full herd and be able to get that close to them so I feel fortunate for the experience. By the way, Independence Rock is impressive.

24 hours later on to phase two of the trip for a new Red Bull project in the northern mid-west. All the grip gear got in via 4 checked bags and after 4 hours of sleep I found myself on a boat with the crew cruising the shoreline of the Wisconsin coast in all it’s fall splendor. After scouting out the coast and harbor, we headed to the airport for a heli shoot with one of my best friends and one of the most talented photographers I’ve ever seen, Brian Nevins. The pilot had some serious skills and was able to get us into all the right places, super smooth, and really, really, low to the water at over 100mph. The footage came out like butter and Brian’s photo’s were nothing short of timeless, but that’s Brian. He’s kind of a big deal. Next three days were a blur but involved a lot of time on boats, water, and lots of foliage. Pronounced fol – ee – uj. Stay tuned for select photos and the trailer-

Packed it all up- flew all the way back to Jacksonville, got home, no waves, slayed some fish, did a load of laundry and headed out to Vancouver. Weather cooperated for the most part and had a great time until my right foot blew out. 4 days later I was able to get it X-Rayed and see a specialist who informed me I had a stress fracture due to overuse. Time to put my feet up.